Front Page   

Shinde to be sworn in CM today

By Mahesh Vijapurkar

MUMBAI Jan. 17. Sushil Kumar Shinde is to be sworn in as the Maharashtra Chief Minister tomorrow heading the multi-party Progressive Democratic Front Government. The Governor, Mohammed Fazal, asked him today to prove his majority within 15 days.

While the Nationalist Congress Party, alliance partner of the Congress, said that it would put up only a small team to start with, Mr. Shinde said "I will get down to business soon after being sworn in.'' He is expected to go to New Delhi to consult the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, on the list of candidates to be inducted into the Ministry.

Neither the Congress nor the NCP wants to field its entire team. Both the parties would like to keep the hopes of their aspirants intact so that none of them falls prey to the Opposition's inducements. In June last year, many MLAs, especially from the NCP, were lured away by the Shiv Sena-BJP combine, plunging the State into a political crisis.

There are already sufficient hints that the Opposition would use the opportunity to destabilise the DF Government, saying that Vilasrao Deshmukh's unceremonious departure was only a vindication of the Opposition contention and the public perception that the Government had failed to deliver on its own substantive programme, including the re-ordering of the Government's fiscal status.

From the Congress, Mr. Shinde alone will be sworn in tomorrow, with Chhagan Bhujbal of the NCP as his deputy. Mr. Bhujbal was the Deputy Chief Minister in the outgoing Government and held seven portfolios. At today's DF Legislature Party meeting where Mr. Shinde was elected leader, as many as 150 MLAs signed the attendance.

Along with the five MLAs of the neutral Peasants and Workers Party, the numbers spell comfort for the Government, which has to prove its majority in a fortnight. "It is easy; we have proved it so many times in the past three-and-a-half years,'' Mr. Shinde said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• PM calls for steps to protect small investor
• HC notices to BCCI, RBI
• We are fully mobilised: Saddam
• Oil prices dip
• Shinde to be sworn in CM today
• Mahajan to intervene as telecome war hots up
• Trade victory for India
• JSC meeting cancelled
• Prohibitory orders
• 5 more held for attack

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu